


Better With a Bit of Love

by kineticmethod



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Schönberg/Boublil, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Doctor Combeferre, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nurse Joly, Sick Enjolras, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 14:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12344586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kineticmethod/pseuds/kineticmethod
Summary: It had taken nearly two hours of begging, pleading, and arguing for Grantaire to convince Enjolras to go to the doctor's office. He'd had a fever for about two days now, and his voice had progressively gotten worse...





	Better With a Bit of Love

It had taken nearly two hours of begging, pleading, and arguing for Grantaire to convince Enjolras to go to the doctor's office. He'd had a fever for about two days now, and his voice had progressively gotten worse. Grantaire realized that he didn't have the cold he claimed it to be and decided that Enjolras needed to see an actual doctor.

"R," he rasped, "I'm fine. Really. It's just a cold."

"No it's not Enj. Colds don't give you a fever of 102 and make you lose your voice. You've caught something, and you need to see a doctor. You need better medicine than Tylenol."

"I'm not going. This'll clear up in a day or two."

"You are going. This isn't a cold, and you need a real doctor. I'd rather not see you suffer from this any longer just because you're being stubborn."

"No!"

Their conversation continued on and on like this until Grantaire finally used his secret weapon.

"Please, Enj? For me?"

It was those words: "for me" that finally broke Enjolras. 

"Alright. I'll go," he said, sounding rather like a man who had sentenced himself to death.

Grantaire planted a kiss to Enjolras's hairline and said, "Thank you, Enj. I promise, everything's gonna be fine."  
\---------------  
Enjolras was quiet for most of the ride there, but when Grantaire turned away from the hospital and towards the small medical plaza, he spoke up. 

"R? Aren't we going to the hospital?"

"No Enj. I know how much you hate hospitals, so we're going to the urgent care clinic instead. It should be less stressful for you."

Enjolras felt a huge weight lift off his chest upon hearing that they weren't heading to the hospital. He hated hospitals; he hated how loud they were, he hated the smell, and he hated the clinical coldness of the whole building. He nodded then returned to his silence.

Once they got to the clinic, Grantaire sent Enjolras to a chair in the waiting room while he gathered the forms that needed to be filled out. The forms were filled out rather quickly and the two waited for Enjolras to be called back. 

Grantaire noticed how much Enjolras's knee was bouncing, and he put his hand over it gently. He said, "Enj, it'll be alright. They're just gonna look you over, give you a prescription, and then we can go home and watch movies on the couch."

Enjolras didn't say anything, but he did lean over and rest his head on Grantaire's shoulder. This happened when he got nervous: he would only speak when absolutely necessary, but he'd also become more tactile, communicating through touch instead. Grantaire snaked his arm around Enjolras's shoulders and pulled him as close to him as he could with the armrests of their chairs in the way.

They stayed like that until a familiar voice called, "Julien Enjolras?"

"Joly?" Both boys asked at the same time.

"Yeah," he shot them a smile, "Remember? I left the hospital to work here because the stress of the hospital was too much."

Now that he mentioned it, Grantaire did remember. The hospital was so overwhelming for Joly that he nearly had a breakdown whenever someone asked him how work was going. His supervisor set him up with a position at the urgent care clinic because despite how good of a doctor Joly was, it wasn't fair for his mental health to suffer at the hospital. Joly loved his position at the clinic, and his mental health's improvement was so obvious.

Grantaire said, "Oh, that's right. I totally forgot you worked here. I'm happy to see you though, and I think Enj would prefer to be looked over by a friend rather than a stranger." Enjolras nodded in agreement.

"Alrighty then. Let's head on back," Joly said.

Grantaire gently pulled Enjolras to his feet, and walked him down the hall behind Joly. They were led into an exam room, and Joly asked Enjolras to hop up on the table. He did, blushing a bit at the awful feeling of vulnerability that an exam table provides. Grantaire took a seat in the spare chair in the room, across from Enjolras.

Joly washed his hands, pulled on a pair of gloves, and rolled over to Enjolras on the rolling stool. He asked, "So Enj, what's going on? I'm assuming more than a cold if you were somehow convinced to see a doctor."

"R thinks I've caught something, but I think I'm fine."

"Uh-huh. Can you tell me your symptoms?"

"Fever, headache, sore throat, chills, he's exhausted, and he's losing his voice," Grantaire supplied when Enjolras stubbornly refused to say anything. Joly jotted all this down on Enjolras's forms.

"Thank you, R," Joly said. "Is that true, Enj?"

Enjolras remained silent, but nodded.

"Okay. I'm going to check you out now, then I'll send a doctor in, alright?" Another nod, and Joly moved to start his examination.

He first checked Enjolras's temperature, frowning when he saw that it was sitting stubbornly at 102.3.

He then pulled his stethoscope from around his neck and reached under Enjolras's shirt and placed it on his chest. "Deep breaths, now." He listened to both sides, as well as his back, before saying, "Sounds good, Enj. No chest congestion, so that's good, and it rules out quite a bit."

He then looked into Enjolras's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Upon looking into his mouth, he tsked and said, "Well it's no wonder why your throat's been bothering you. It doesn't look good in here, Enj." He made a quick note on Enjolras's paperwork.

He then prodded under Enjolras's jawline, noting how Enjolras flinched in pain at the gentle pressure, and said, "I think I'm done here. I'll get your file to a doctor, and someone will be in here shortly."

Enjolras said, "Thank you, Joly."

Joly replied, "You're welcome, Enj. If I don't see you again before you leave, I hope you feel better soon."

Enjolras gave a smile and said, "Thanks."

Joly returned the smile and left Enjolras and Grantaire alone in the room. Grantaire stood and joined Enjolras on the table. He rubbed up and down Enjolras's back and said, "I'm proud of you, Enj. I know you'd rather be anywhere but here, but you're still here, and you're being incredibly brave. You're almost done now."

They sat there, Grantaire holding Enjolras, until they heard two quick knocks on the door, and in walked the doctor, a man who looked shockingly like

"Combeferre? Since when have you been here?" Enjolras asked, a hint of surprise and relief in his voice. He was under the impression that Combeferre was interning at a clinic across town.

"Since about a month ago. I'm interning here for a few months before moving on to the next clinic." Combeferre was doing his internships, so he was being rotated among the medical offices in the area for two years before going into his residency. "Now, according to Joly, your throat looked pretty bad, so if you could open wide…"

Enjolras opened his mouth and Combeferre looked in it intently, humming in disapproval. He said, "Definitely not good looking, Enj. I think, based on the symptoms Joly noted and your vitals, you've got strep. I'm going to order a strep test for you, just to be sure before I write you a prescription." With that, Combeferre left the room, leaving Enjolras and Grantaire alone again. 

No words were exchanged during this period, and soon enough a few courtesy knocks were given and in walked Joly. He was carrying what looked like a pencil caddie, only instead of pencils and pens, it held cotton swabs and test tubes. He said, "Alright Enj, here's how this works: I'm going to take one of these cotton swabs and take a sample from the back of your throat. It shouldn't hurt, but some people with sensitive gag reflexes have reported it to be a bit uncomfortable. Then I'll send them down to the lab, and we'll know if this is strep or not within about ten minutes."

Enjolras nodded at Joly's information, thinking that this wouldn't be nearly as horrible as he had anticipated. He shifted himself up onto the table a bit more, and Grantaire moved with him, opting to hold his hand now in order to give Joly space to take his sample.

Joly said, "Open wide, please. And don't shut your mouth until I say so." Enjolras did, and he felt Joly poking around a bit at the back of his throat. It didn't hurt, not in the least, but it felt a bit strange. 

After a few seconds of this, Joly said, "And that's it. You can close your mouth now." Enjolras did. "I'm going to take these to the lab, and Combeferre will be back with your results in a bit."

Enjolras said, "Thank you, Joly."

Joly responded with, "You're welcome, Enj."

Grantaire slipped his arm back around Enjolras, pulling him into a loose embrace. He asked, "Are you still doing okay?"

Enjolras responded, "Yeah. I'm happy our friends were working. I don't like strangers poking and prodding around when I don't even know them."

Grantaire replied, "I understand. You've done so well though, and we're almost done here." The two smiled at each other, and Grantaire pressed a kiss to Enjolras's forehead. He said, "When we get home, how about we watch some movies, and I'll make you some soup?"

Enjolras said, "That sounds really great" with a smile.

The two sat in a peaceful silence until Combeferre returned, giving his two quick knocks, and immediately stating, "You've got strep. No work for the rest of the week, as much vocal rest as possible, bed rest, and lots of easy-to-swallow food." He passed Enjolras a piece of paper, his prescription. He continued, "I've sent your online prescription to the pharmacy a few blocks away from your apartment, so either of you can get it, but I really think Enjolras should go home, and Grantaire can get it."

Both boys responded with, "Okay."

Combeferre said, "If you have any more questions, ask away. Otherwise, you're free to go, but I will be running by tomorrow evening to check on you. Alright?"

Enjolras replied, "Sounds good. Thank you, Ferre. I think we're good to go."

"Let me walk you back up so you can pay. I know this place is a ridiculous maze."

The three walked back up to the front of the building, pausing so Enjolras could pay, then he and Grantaire left, and Combeferre returned to his job.  
\---------------  
Enjolras and Grantaire drove home, hands loosely clasped until they got to the parking garage of their apartment building. Enjolras felt a wave of peace hit him when he stepped into their apartment.

Grantaire spoke from behind him, "Why don't you go put on some pajamas and get settled on the couch? I have to do something before I go get your medicine."

Enjolras murmured in assent and shuffled toward the bedroom. Grantaire went to the hall closet and pulled out an excessive number of throw blankets, and took them to the couch, where he proceeded to create a blanket nest. Enjolras came out of the bedroom and stared at the blankets with a mix of exasperation and gratefulness. He crawled in, pulling a few blankets over himself, before settling himself against the back of the couch. He asked, "Is this the something you needed to do before you left?"

"Yes it was," Grantaire said with a cheeky smile.

Enjolras said, "You're the best."

Grantaire replied, "I really am. Now, I'm going to go get your medicine, and you are going to stay here and be cozy and warm. Okay?"

"Okay."

With that, Grantaire left, and Enjolras turned on the TV. It was some documentary on volcanoes, and he briefly thought about how Combeferre would find it interesting, even though it wasn't his preferred area of study, before slipping into sleep.

He was woken up half an hour later to Grantaire gently shaking his shoulder and repeating his name. He groaned and tried to roll over, but Grantaire stopped him with a hand on his arm. Grantaire said, "I know you're tired, Enj, but you need to take your medicine first, plus I grabbed some soup, so you should eat something. Then you can sleep all you want."

Enjolras sighed, just wanting to sleep some more, but he knew he had to take the medicine first, he just didn't want to leave his blanket cocoon. "Alright," he said, "give them here."

Grantaire said, "Actually, Enj, it's not a pill. They don't give strep patients pills, they give them liquid. It's supposed to be fruit-flavored."

Enjolras pulled a face at the thought of taking such foul-tasting medicine, and he said, simply, "No."

Grantaire sighed. He knew that they'd have this argument the moment the pharmacist handed him the bottles, but he still had hope that maybe, just maybe, Enjolras would take the medicine without a fight. But here they were. 

He pleaded, "Come on, Enj. It's not that bad, and it'll make you feel better."

Enjolras said nothing. He just pressed his lips together firmly and shook his head, looking rather like a pouty child, which, Grantaire realized, he was acting like as well. Grantaire thought he'd try out his secret weapon once again: "Please? For me?"

Enjolras spoke this time. "That's not going to work this time, R." He then proceeded to pull the blankets up over his head so there would be no way for Grantaire to get the foul liquid in his mouth.

Grantaire debated sitting on Enjolras for a second, but decided against it, knowing it would make his boyfriend even more upset with him than he needed. He suddenly got an idea. He got up and went to the kitchen, where he poured a glass of iced tea from the pitcher, then returned to the living room. He pulled the blankets off his boyfriend's head and planted a quick kiss to the tip of his nose.

He said, "How about this: I give you the medicine, then as soon as you swallow it, you wash the taste out with tea? Then maybe you can avoid tasting it as much as possible."

Enjolras looked for a moment like he was going to argue, but instead nodded in agreement. Grantaire smiled at him and gave him the glass of tea. He then poured the medicine into the measuring spoon that came with the bottles and spoon-fed it to Enjolras. Enjolras swallowed it quickly and then downed a third of the glass in an attempt to get all traces of the taste out of his mouth. He shuddered as he finished the whole affair, then collapsed against the couch pillows.

"There we go. Now was that so bad?" Grantaire asked in a mildly teasing voice.

Enjolras fixed him with a stern glare and said, "Yes, actually." But this only made Grantaire chuckle at his grumpy boyfriend.

"Don't laugh at me," Enjolras whined, "I'm sick."

"Alright, alright, I'll stop laughing at you. I'm only teasing, Enj. You know I love you." Grantaire replied.

"Uh-huh. Sure," Enjolras said, without any real anger, "Because of that, I get to pick the first movie we watch tonight."

"Fair enough," Grantaire said, "What do you wanna watch?"

"Harry Potter. Third one," he mumbled, already being pulled back into sleep.

"You got it, Chief," Grantaire said as he put the DVD in. He settled himself in such a way that Enjolras could lean against him, and he pressed play on the movie. Grantaire thought he should try to get Enjolras to eat the soup he bought, but he was tired too.

Less than half an hour into the movie, both boys were out cold.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright I have no idea how med school and medical professions work, so just pretend that Joly and Combeferre's stories are legit. Same goes for symptoms and treatments described in this, since I am NOT a medical professional.


End file.
